Woman having a panic attack ignored by passersby

A FAMILY from Frome are shocked and upset following an incident that recently took place in the Lidl car park.

A woman from Frome, who would prefer to remain anonymous, collapsed in Lidl’s car park shortly after parking her car. Her daughter had already gone into the supermarket so she was on her own.

Her husband told the Frome Times what happened next. He said, “I had a call from my daughter to say that her mum had collapsed and the ambulance was taking her to hospital.

“When I arrived, she was shaking, her vision was going and she said her heart was burning. She was saying goodbye to me and asking me to call her family in Mali, where she is originally from, as she said she was dying.

“The doctors explained it was an anxiety attack which comes from fast breathing in panic. She said she was just parking the car and something hit her like a bolt of lightening.

“The thing that upset her the most was that five people walked past her, completely ignoring her holding out her phone asking someone to call an ambulance as she couldn’t breathe. One was a family with two children. In the end she had to persuade someone to go and get our daughter from inside the shop.

“She said the worst thing was feeling that she are going to die alone as people walked passed snarling at her. She said she gave up then and wondered why she lives in Frome. How can Frome be this cold? Unfortunately she now questions if it was due to her race.

“I want to try and raise awareness. Are we like this to whoever is in need, black or white? Do not ignore people in need in the town or assume it is something else.”

Mayor of Frome, cllr Kate Bielby said, “I’m so sorry and shocked to hear this happened in Frome. It’s incredibly upsetting to think that anybody in this situation, reaching out for help, was ignored. I’d like to think that most people are kind and ready to help others in need and that this distressing incident does not reflect the way most people would behave.

“I hope the woman who had this awful experience has fully recovered and send my personal best wishes to her and her family.”